Shepherd’s Pie: A rich gravy with ground beef and vegetables, topped with ultra creamy mashed potatoes. The ultimate comfort food!
Shepherd’s Pie Is…
- Comforting: It’s the ultimate feel-good food.
- Delicious: The beef and veggie mix is coated in a flavorful gravy.
- Creamy Potatoes: Potatoes cover the top adding the perfect texture and flavor.
- Customizable: You can change the veggies and meat to your preference.
- Perfect For Making Ahead: It can be prepared ahead of time.
Quick Tip
Shepherd’s Pie, typically uses ground lamb (or Cottage Pie with beef), is a seasoned meat, vegetables, and gravy casserole under a creamy mashed potato crust, baked until golden. In the states, it’s often made with beef due to availability.
Ingredients In Shepherd’s Pie
Base:
- Olive Oil: Used for sautéing the veggies.
- Mirepoix: Veggie base providing flavor and texture.
- Ground Chuck Round: The main base and protein of this pie.
- White Flour: Thickens the gravy.
- Frozen Peas or Corn: Adds sweetness and texture.
- Fire-Roasted Diced Tomatoes, Tomato Paste: Gives the gravy a richer flavor.
- Beef Stock, Beef Bouillon Cube, Worcestershire Sauce: Provides savory depth.
- 100% Grape Juice: Adds sweetness and complexity.
- Dried Thyme, Bay Leaves: Adds an herbal flavor.
Topping:
- Potatoes (Yukon Gold and Russet): Makes the irresistible creamy topping.
- Heavy Cream, Sour Cream, Unsalted Butter: Adds creaminess and richness to the potatoes.
- Fresh Parsley/Thyme: Optional garnish for freshness and presentation.
How To Make Shepherd’s Pie
- Sauté garlic, onion, carrots, and celery.
- Brown ground chuck and add flour.
- Combine with peas, tomatoes, stock, grape juice, seasonings, and simmer.
- Boil and mash potatoes with cream and butter.
- Layer meat mixture topped with mashed potatoes.
- Bake until golden and bubbly.
- Garnish with herbs if desired. Serve hot.
Storage
Storage And Make Ahead Tips
- Make Ahead: Prepare your shepherd’s pie all together and refrigerate before baking.
- Refrigerating: Store cooked pie covered for 3-5 days.
- Freezing: Freeze tightly covered for up to 2 months; bake frozen pie at 350°F for 1 hour before serving.
Serve Alongside:
Shepherd's Pie
Shepherd’s Pie is the ultimate comfort—savory ground beef and veggies in rich gravy, topped with creamy mashed potatoes. Cozy and delicious!
Equipment
- Large, oven-safe pan
- Large pot
- Ricer for potatoes
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil divided
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 2 cups mirepoix mix of carrots, onion, and celery, finely chopped (1 small yellow onion, 1 celery stalk, and 1 carrot to get 2 cups)
- 1.2 pounds ground chuck round
- 1/4 cup flour
- 1/2 cup frozen sweet peas or frozen corn
- 1 (14.5-ounce) can fire-roasted diced tomatoes undrained
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1-3/4 cups reduced-sodium beef stock can use reduced-sodium beef broth
- 1/2 cup 100% grape juice see note 1
- 1 beef bouillon cube
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 3 bay leaves divided
Instructions
- Heat 1 and 1/2 tablespoons olive oil in a large, oven-safe pan over medium-high heat. Add garlic and finely chopped onion, stirring frequently, for about 1 minute. Add finely chopped carrots and celery, cooking another 2–3 minutes until veggies are softened.
- Heat pan to high and add beef. Cook until browned, breaking it apart. Drain any excess grease. Stir in flour and cook for 1 minute to remove raw flour taste. Reduce heat to medium-high and add the frozen peas or corn, diced tomatoes, tomato paste, beef stock, grape juice, beef bouillon cube, Worcestershire sauce, dried thyme, and bay leaves.
- Bring mixture to a simmer, then reduce heat to medium and let it rapidly simmer. Cook for 25–35 minutes at medium heat, stirring every 5 minutes until gravy thickens. Remove from heat, cover, and refrigerate until ready to bake. If making immediately, refrigerate until potatoes are ready. To maintain separate layers while baking, chill the mixture for at least 15–20 minutes. If you didn’t prepare in an oven-safe pan, transfer to a 2-quart oven-safe dish.
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Peel and cube potatoes into golf-ball sized pieces. Rinse them under cold water in a strainer until water runs clear. Transfer to a large pot, cover with cold water, add 1 tablespoon fine sea salt and 1 bay leaf, then bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook until potatoes are fork-tender, about 15–20 minutes. Drain potatoes in a strainer, ensuring all excess moisture is removed. Let dry for about 3 minutes and discard bay leaf.
- As potatoes dry in strainer, melt heavy cream, sour cream, and butter in the pot on low heat, stirring to combine. While potatoes are still hot, put them through a ricer and add on top of butter/sour cream mixture. Stir with a wooden spoon until smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper (about 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper). Cover and refrigerate until ready to assemble the pie, or use immediately to top the pie evenly.
- Use a fork to add marks into the surface of potatoes. Drizzle with remaining 1/2 tablespoon olive oil.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 25–30 minutes, or until potatoes are golden brown and edges are bubbling. For crispy tops, broil on high for 1–2 minutes. Remove from heat and garnish with fresh thyme or parsley as desired. Serve hot.
Video
Recipe Notes
Note 1: Traditional Shepherd’s Pie typically includes red wine in the gravy. To do so, substitute 1/2 cup of medium-bodied red wine (like pinot noir) for an equal amount of vegetable broth.
Storage: Store cooked pie covered in the fridge for 3–5 days. You can freeze it tightly covered for up to 2 months; bake frozen pie at 350°F for 1 hour before serving.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 697kcal | Carbohydrates: 39g | Protein: 49.2g | Fat: 37.5g | Cholesterol: 192.9mg | Sodium: 623.1mg | Fiber: 4.9g | Sugar: 13.5g
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Great recipe! I was going to use lamb but my grocery store was out of ground lamb. So I used beef. I also used red wine instead of grape juice and added it after I added the flour. To deglaze the pan and cook off some of the alcohol. Delicious!
Yay! so glad you were able to. make this work! Thanks Kristin!:)
Wow this looks delicious! Can’t wait to try it.
Thank you for the great recipe!
Have a great day.
Priyanka
This recipe is absolutely delicious..will make it again and again! So yummy!
Yayyy!! I’m so glad you loved it! Thanks Wendy! 🙂
I made this with a few substitutes.
I used chicken broth instead and i didn’t have grape juice so i used water and extra chicken bouyang and instead of using olive oil i used bacon fat. Came out extraordinary thank you for sharing
Yay!! Soo glad you enjoyed and were able to work with what you have 🙂 Thanks for your comment!
Do you use white or purple grape juice in your recipe? Thanks
Purple grape juice 🙂
I can’t help but fell I did something wrong mine is really thick not a liquidy ad the picture and more of a red then a brown color I did all the measurements right I don’t really know where I went wrong
Did you simmer the mixture too long? Any recipe substitutions? It will be more brown with all beef broth/stock if you opt to use that instead of wine/juice.
As I sit here eating this recipe, I have to compliment the creator. It’s something extremely yummy and comforting. I used a 12” cast iron skillet to make this dish, this time around. 3 large Idaho potatoes. The meat mixture seemed very liquidity even after cooking 30 minutes stovetop and in the oven for another 30 minutes. The layer of potatoes for me was very thin maybe 1/4 inch. I used drained canned peas and canned corn, recommendation that. Can never have too many veggies.
I am going to make this again.
I will use 1 lbs 80/20 ground beef and 1 lbs ground lamb for a more authentic flavor profile. 1 extra carrot and 1 celery stick. Use a large Dutch oven. And 4-5 large Idaho potatoes. For a thicker mash potato topping. I will include fresh chopped chives in the mash potatoes as well.
Glad you enjoyed it Emmi! 🙂
This looks delicious! Can I substitute red wine for the grape juice?
Yes absolutely! 🙂
Looks yummy, I will try it soon!
You’re right that shepherd’s pie is made with lamb. When it’s made with beef then it’s called Cottage pie. Strange how many people around the world love these pies, but don’t know the naming differences. ?
Can I use Lamb instead of beef?
Yes, definitely! 🙂
wow, this screams savory and perfect time of year for this and a nice change to the usual pot roast, etc., a nice “import” from across the pond too, thank you!
Sounds delicious! Would it be okay to just use more beef broth rather than the grace juice?
Thank you! We love this! Yes that will work great 🙂
I substituted red cooking wine, instead of grape juice. I’m sure the tastes are very similar. Amazing recipe. Thank you.
YUMM!! So glad you enjoyed! Thanks! 🙂